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Composed and Produced by:
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Christophe Beck
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Release Date:
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September 30th, 2003
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release.
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you enjoy consistent and pleasant expressions of romantic,
Italian underscore.
Avoid it... if you are looking for overwhelming love themes or a truly
authentic Italian flavoring in solo performances.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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Under the Tuscan Sun: (Christophe Beck) After spending
two years on the New York Times best-seller list, Frances Mayes' novel,
Under the Tuscan Sun, was adapted to the big screen by
director/screenwriter Audrey Wells. The film is a return to Hollywood
escapism in the days when Mediterranean locations were the place of
Americans' dreams. In it, a successful, but recently divorced writer in San
Francisco struggles with writer's block, and buys a run down Tuscan villa as
a project that could help her regain her writing inspiration. Along the way,
she is charmed by the scenery and people of the area, and the predictable
flow of the storyline leads to a pleasant, heartwarming moviegoing
experience. With the humor and subject matter rooted firmly in simple themes
of romance, the film is ultimately what most would refer to as a "chick's
movie," and critics have generally embraced it with mid-level praise. Wells
had collaborated with composer Christophe Beck for one motion picture
(Guinevere) prior to Under the Tuscan Sun, and she called upon
him to combine the American and Mediterranean spirits in one lushly romantic
score. Beck is a veteran of mostly television work, best known for his Emmy
award-winning music for the very popular "Buffy" series, and that success
has led him on a journey for more feature film assignments. With a vow to
make every one of his new scores better than all of his previous efforts,
Beck followed Wells' wishes to weave three elements together into his score:
the contemporary style of the primary, modern character, the sensibilities
of Nino Rota's typical music for the genre, and a general personality
suitable for the comic and romantic elements of the light-hearted, Italian
lifestyle. The end result of his score for Under the Tuscan Sun isn't
polarized as much as one might think, with neither the modern nor the
Italian taking complete control of the music.
The ensemble employed by Beck for Under the Tuscan
Sun is very typical for this specific genre and setting. He begins with
a partial orchestra (heavy on the strings and including only four brass
players) and spices it up with solo roles for traditional guitars, a piano,
accordion, several woodwinds, and a boy soprano (heard specifically in two
cues). With these players, Beck chooses to form more of a textured score
rather than one of obvious, thematic domination. He walks a line halfway
between the Americanized interpretation of highly thematic Italian life (as
expressed best by Rachel Portman in Only You) and the smaller-scale
style of authenticity that you would hear in a Luis Bacalov score for the
same genre (such as Il Postino, which is perhaps the best known such
score in America). Despite the talk (from Wells) about three different
styles in the score, it is a very consistent score that doesn't stray from
its set personality, even in the non-Italian locations. There is a hint of
professionalism in the systematic rhythms heard in the opening cue, but for
the most part, the Italian flavor is established right off the bat. With the
piano and guitars leading the way, Beck pleasantly offers one textured cue
after another, occasionally including an accordion or keyboard over an
appropriately lazy rhythm. While he does present a handful of thematic
swells opposite the moments of low underscore, Under the Tuscan Sun
plays without the sense of grand scope that you might expect from the
setting. There is no overwhelming theme that lifts you up and transports you
to Tuscany, although Beck compensates just enough in the instrumentation and
rhythm of the underscore to suffice in convincing the listener of its
authenticity. Perhaps more troubling to the score is the lack of swing, or
true Mediterranean spirit from the orchestral or solo performers. This is
something you hear the native Italian composers do with great ease, and
whether the problem is inherent in Beck's writing, of simply in the
performance of that composition, Under the Tuscan Sun lacks a certain
amount of pizzazz, energy, and flamboyance that could have helped the score
transcend the oceanic barrier between cultures. Overall, it's an easy
listening experience, though not the most convincing for a setting under the
Tuscan sun. ***
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. Follow the Flower (3:40)
• 2. I Broke My Heart in San Francisco (0:57)
• 3. Wish You Were Here (1:00)
• 4. Bramasole (1:35)
• 5. Un Segno di Dio (0:42)
• 6. Buyer's Remorse (1:30)
• 7. Three Stooges (1:29)
• 8. A Team of Experts (1:27)
• 9. Ice Cream (1:38)
• 10. Believers (1:01)
• 11. Kurwa Mac (0:51)
• 12. The Old Man with the Flowers (0:46)
• 13. Olive Harvest (1:42)
• 14. Ode to San Lorenzo (1:34)
• 15. Roma (1:15)
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• 16. Marcello, Of Course (1:03)
• 17. Blue Umbrellas (1:01)
• 18. What American Women Say (1:32)
• 19. Patti Arrives (1:06)
• 20. Mud Slide (0:51)
• 21. Springtime (1:32)
• 22. Baby Alessandra (1:26)
• 23. Polonia (2:25)
• 24. White Dress (2:03)
• 25. Katherine's Fountain (2:31)
• 26. The Most Important Thing (2:47)
• 27. Gaudeamus (1:25)
• 28. My Wish (2:28)
• 29. The Spigot (2:47)
• 30. End Titles (2:09)
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The insert includes a note about the score and film from director Audrey Wells.
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